Arc vs Mig

[Nizsafari]

I'm looking at getting a welder but am unsure which to get.. I can get an Arc welder for about $100 but a cheap Mig is near $500..
I plan on using it to weld plate onto my sills to strengthen them, make sliders and basically just general light-med welding

Any thoughts or opinions appreciated
Pro's/Con's of each

Cheers


Tony

[tpft]

both, generally $500 migs are ok for light stuff, but dont have amps for thick plate or tube

[Cloggy_NZ]

Anything on an automotive body and chassis can be handled by a MIG, even a cheapy one like the ones you are talking about. I have had a cheapy one for years and hardly ever pull the arc welder out these days.
My MIG gets used on anything up to about 6mm plate. Anything over that calls for the arcwelder.
MIG is also easier and faster to use. However it is also easy to make a very nice looking weld with a MIG which has no penetration and therefore not very strong.
It is virtually impossible to weld body panels on a car or 4x4 with an arc welder.
As a first welder, I'd go for the MIG.

[Nizsafari]

Anything on an automotive body and chassis can be handled by a MIG, even a cheapy one like the ones you are talking about. I have had a cheapy one for years and hardly ever pull the arc welder out these days.
My MIG gets used on anything up to about 6mm plate. Anything over that calls for the arcwelder.
MIG is also easier and faster to use. However it is also easy to make a very nice looking weld with a MIG which has no penetration and therefore not very strong.
It is virtually impossible to weld body panels on a car or 4x4 with an arc welder.
As a first welder, I'd go for the MIG.

Interesting... Thanks cloggy.. then we have the next question.. Gas or Gasless.. been told to stay clear of gasless.

[Cloggy_NZ]

Interesting... Thanks cloggy.. then we have the next question.. Gas or Gasless.. been told to stay clear of gasless.

Aye, gasless MIG sucks. It has it's place I guess but inside your garage is not it. Gasless MIG is mainly for outdoor usage where wind is a problem and would blow the gas coming out of a normal MIG's nozzle away. This results in very poor welds.
But inside your garage you don't have these problems. Go with gas.

[Nizsafari]

Well i guess Mig.. with gas option it is.. Does anyone have one for sale???

[Jezza]

could always get a TIG, not to bad to use after some practice, plus it can be used as a arc as well

[gary_in_nz]

for a first welder i would go MIG.

But at work we thrash, utterly to distruction (i'm a Saw mill fitter, on breakdown coverage) the BOC inverter welders (can pick them up on special for about $900), which are your MMAW (Manual Metal Arc Welders) and when reversed polarity, and switch flicked, become TiG welders.

Mig, good for your sheet metals, but depending how good and how many amps you can crank it, are good for structual work. I have a 140amp mig, use .9mm wire, and quite happily weld 12mm + mild steel.

Arc welder, good penetration etc, good for your heavier gauge stuff, or if you are going to do bar work with Galvanised pipe.

The plus of having the inverter welder is the ability to TIG, so you can do all your pannel work with and stainless steel work with the Tig option and back to arc weld for your other jobs.

Tig welding takes some getting use to, but if you have spare time try pick up a short course at polytec or something.

best of luck

[jear bear]

I would definately go with the mig, as stated by some1 earlier, it is basically impossible to weld panel steel with an arc, and definately go with argon gas, gasless is hard enough at the best of times without trying to learn with it, and you will get cleaner welds with the argon! Arcs are great if you are welding thick steel and need a good strong weld, but generally a mig is fine. Well thats my opinion anyway.

[SupraLux]

Ok, so I don't need to say MIG - everyone else has already, but think about ongoing costs of gas MIG.

Your gas options are CO2 or Argoshield (or an equivalent - its a CO2/Argon mix). Argoshield has a cleaner finish, but limits penetration into the material - CO2 gives better penetration for the same amps and is cheaper but the finish is not as pretty - whats more important? Depends what you're welding.

Gas bottles have to be purchased or hired - and if you only use it once or twice that can be very pricey... You can use a sodastream bottle on some smaller migs for CO2 but it will only last 5 minutes. You can also buy throw-away bottles of argoshield but they don't last long either and they cost heaps.

Gasless MIG is not that bad when its set up right - although if you ever have to weld over it with anything else it makes a mess. Its a good beginner option because you buy the wire and just weld... no ongoing costs other than the welder - also buy the biggest welder you can afford in terms of what spool size it will take and amps - make sure you don't believe the model number - ie: MigStar Combi 155 is a 120A welder... not a 155A like the sales guy told me when I bought it - it was shit anyway and I've moved on to a better one but its something to be aware of.

Steve

[Petemcc]

i recently bought a wee cig weld 160amp mig. Started running gassless wire in it and although it doen't look at nice gets good penitration (seems to run hotter than with co2) gasless wire has come a long way over the last few year. My mates dad who has done alot of welding over the years told me not to touch it but after playing with my welder with the gasless wire he changed his mind.
I bought a fire extinguisher bottle that had been converted for the welder to run co2. expensive at the start but if you are going to have it for a few years cheaper than renting. apparrently can't own your own argon bottles. still working out which is cheaper. co2 wire is way cheaper than gasless but you have to pay for the gas!

Pete